Caught Somewhere in Time
by Sir Eddy
Summary: Time can be a strange thing, as it extends not only forwards and back, but even touches other places and things, almost like an ocean in how it acts. Messing with it though, can result in far stranger things to occur, and the wave generated from that change can sometimes draw the attention of those who can ride across its surface at will.


It must be similar to what hell feels like, or at least certain versions of hell. With how many there were, it was hard to truly know what it might be like for others. This was certainly his hell though. To be seeing so many things, thousands upon thousands of faces, some looking angry, some sad, some scared, others confused. They had no idea where they were or what this place was. Even he only had a vague understanding of it, or at least he knew where it meant he was.

Terrible as well was all the noise that came from every direction. Voices, numbering the same as the faces, expressing the same emotions. Cries for help, of confusion, some screaming in anger at their situation. Occasionally he made out words within the cacophony; Help, No, Save, Please, Mercy, and sometimes it was just noises of raw emotion. They came from women, from men, children, elderly. Some voices were deep, others reached higher pitches. They even came in different languages. Languages he didn't know, but still he could understand them

Those voices and faces, some were not even human. At least, he knew they weren't. He could tell every now and then that some faces and voices weren't human, but then he could no longer tell as he forgot what it meant to be human.

The worse of it all though was the swarm of emotions. Just likes the faces and noises that blended together, so did their emotions. He could feel all the anger, sadness, fear, hatred. They were the strongest, the most prevalent, though he'd feel the strange bliss or apathy from somewhere at times. He felt all these emotions all at once, felt every ounce from every thing that was lost within and without what he could perceive.

It crushed him, smothered away any semblance of who he was anymore. He no longer was himself, he was everyone. They were all together, locked in this prison, never to know where they were or what they had been.

The only thing that kept him sane, the only thing that gave him any individuality, was the knowledge that this was not where he'd remain forever. He could never tell how long it lasted, as time did not exist in this place, but he knew that he would eventually leave. It was not his first visit, and he was sure it would not be his last either. That knowledge of freedom was the only thing he truly knew to be himself. To the countless lost here, there was no semblance of their individuality anymore. For him though, it was knowledge of freedom that stopped him from truly fading into the gestalt. He would never know where he'd be, only that he'd eventually be free from this vile place he'd been born from.

Waiting, he let himself be taken by the gestalt around him, did not fight it's pull. He only kept telling himself, "Freedom, freedom, freedom…"

* * *

Silence. It was such a beautiful thing to experience after all the noise he had just been bombarded by. Normally it was an eerie thing, to experience total silence, after all, it usually meant something bad was about to happen. Right now though, it was just a wonderful blessing.

"_Wait a minute." _He thought to himself. He tried taking note of his senses. Firstly was something underneath him, or rather he was lying on something judging from the pressure all along his back.

Next, he started to hear the sound of wind passing by, rustling leaves in the distant, or swaying grass right next to his ear. He occasionally caught the sound of birds chirping.

He finally opened his eyes, and immediately regretted it when he was blinded by the sun hanging high in the sky. "Ah crap!" He exclaimed, bringing up his hand to quickly shield his eyes, head turning away as well. "Well, least I'm somewhere now." Opening his eyes, his sight was met with nothing but grass, which thankfully was nice and green. "Not too terrible so far." he muttered, slowly sitting himself up so that he could see over the grass he was surrounded by. All around him were fields of grass, some hills in the distance with mountains even further away.

He took a look back to the sky, using a hand to shield his eyes so he wasn't blinded this time around. He was greeted by the sight of a bright, blue sky, a couple fluffy clouds floating by. It brought a small smirk to his face, considering this was a lot better than what he'd just been in.

"Name…name." he said to himself, thinking for a moment. "Barko? No, no." He brought a hand to his chin as he thought, rubbing it lightly. "Brakas!" he suddenly shouted, snapping his fingers and smiling more. Good, at least it meant he still had his name to work with.

Brakas finally stood up, bending slightly to brush off the dirt from his brown cloth pants, then reaching up to brush off the sleeves of his greyish-blue leather jacket, which reached all the way down to about the middle of his shins, the back having a slit that started just below his tailbone to give his legs some freedom of movement. His brown leather gloves came up over the sleeves and stopped just below his elbow, and his upper arms were covered also by light leather bands. His legs were protected by a long pair of boots that came up to his knees, with a thicker padding that actually covered the knee cap.

He blinked, bringing a hand up to his head to feel nothing but his short, brown hair, a mess from having been lying in the grass. He quickly looked around for his hat, panicking that maybe it hadn't come with him. He still had the rest of his outfit from his last stay, including the magic bracers that covered his forearms and rested over top his gloves.

He breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes finally settled on his prized tricorn hat, a simple black, leather hat, each fold of the brims held to the center by two small pins each. He looked at it, watching it before he reached his hand out towards it. It took a few moments, but soon his hat suddenly shot up off the ground and too his hand, propelled by an invisible force. Smiling, he smoothed his hair out before setting the hat atop his head, adjusting it before nodding to himself in approval.

He was also glad to know that his psionic powers were still working. Though it did make him wonder how much weaker they had been rendered due to his recent demise. He shuddered at the thought, as though he couldn't recall a whole lot from the previous life, he did remember dying a rather corrosivy death from a very big, and very mad, green dragon's breath.

Test number two then on his powers. He concentrated for a bit, trying to strengthen all of his senses. He turned to look towards a nearby set of trees, a good thirty or so feet away from him. He was standing there staring at the tree for a good minute or so before he began to notice the tree's features coming into much better focus. Even as far away as he was, he was able to see the individual leaves on the many branches, could even see the various small ridges on each leaf.

His eyes moved to focus on the bird he could see through the leaves, looking at fluffy, brown bird, though the feathers on it's stomach were a cute shade of red. As he focused, he could also hear it moving around the branch, shifting the branch ever so slightly and rustling leaves. Occasionally it would preen the feathers of its wing and produce a faint sound of hard beak scraping against the softer feathers.

He knew his touch had gotten more sensitive, as he could feel all the individual pieces of lint from his clothes brushing his skin. Moving his feet, he felt the vibrations of the grass crunching under him, and though the breeze had died down, he could still feel brushing across his skin.

He took a deep breath through his nose, though his face quickly twisted in disgust before he started coughing as the smell of something rotting nearby hit his nose. He let the power drop, driving the horrid sent away as he kept his nose covered just in case it decided to strike again. "Always something nearby to burn the nostrils, I swear." He had no desire to test if his taste was affected. Four out of five were good enough for him, and the three important ones were working.

Looking back over to the trees, he now just needed to test his most important trick. After all, it was why he gave himself the moniker of "The Traveller." He now focused on the base of the tree, his brow furrowing as he kept trying to make the jump. He heaved a heavy sigh as he stopped, frowning that he couldn't get it too work. "Ok, let's try smaller increments then. Because of course these damn powers just can't stay consistent across deaths." he grumbled, choosing now a spot that was only about ten or so feet away from him.

His perspective changed in an instant as he found himself now standing where he had been looking. His arrival was accompanied by a loud pop, as the air in the spot was rapidly displaced by his sudden appearance. He smirked again, glad to know that at least he could still teleport. Unfortunately, it just looked like he'd have to work on his travel distance. He wasn't feeling any real fatigue either, which meant that such small uses didn't drain his stamina too quickly.

"Ok, Brakas, time to figure out just where the hell you are." he said, his hands moving to rest on his hips as he looked around. He scowled a little, looking down at himself when it finally dawned on him that he didn't have any of his weapons. No shield either, which was mildly annoying. Though Brakas figured he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, as he at least popped up here with his clothes, and nothing was trying to murder him at the moment.

He looked back up, scanning the area as he looked for any kinda of settlement, or at least a road. Hell, it'd be nice to find a damn trail. Some kind of direction! Blinking, he squinted a bit when he saw some kind of dot in the distance. Strengthening his sight, he was able to make out the vague shapes of buildings, and a decent number of them too. Progress! He clapped his hands together, rubbing them against one another as he began walking in that direction. "Let's figure out just where the hell I am."

* * *

The sun had just gone past noon, beginning its decent as Brakas finally made it to the town. He looked around at the buildings as he walked down the cobblestone street. About the fanciest building he'd seen at this point had been the church /temple/ whatever these people called it towards the center. It was across a small stream from a tiny, humble market that right now was rather quiet, the only life being townsfolk going about their own business, whatever it might be.

Right now, Brakas was looking for some kind of tavern or inn, someplace he could find people and start getting some information. Fortunately, he'd learned that these people all spoke common, which was going to make info collecting so much easier for him. It was a pain in the ass to try and figure out a new language, especially considering his powers were very weak at the moment. Honestly, he wasn't even certain that he'd be able to pull off the translation trick right now.

Finally deciding blindly wandering wouldn't get him far, he raised his hand to try and grab the attention of a young couple, he figured at least, as they were walking by him. "Excuse me!" he called, waiting for them to stop and look at him. They both wore very simple linen clothes, the man just a shirt and trousers while the woman had a shirt and skirt, and both were wearing rather beat up shoes. Given his own attire, he wasn't surprised when they both looked a bit concerned as he approached them.

"Y-Yes sir?" the man asked, the woman moving slightly behind him as Brakas stopped away from them.

"I'm looking for somewhere I could rest my feet. Been on the road for a couple days now, and could use a quiet place relax while I got my bearings." he said, donning a small smile to try and ease some tensions.

The man raised an eyebrow, "Like an inn? We ain't got any inns here, though the tavern is down that way," he said while turning to point. Before he could finish, his eyes widened at the sight of several men coming down the road towards them. Brakas looked over as well, his smile fading as he could see their attire and equipment. It was nothing fancy, mostly leather bits here and there, maybe a metal plate. If Brakas had to guess, it was probably mostly equipment that they had looted.

He figured it was looted, because the men were quickly spreading out into the town, weapons in hand and it was soon followed by the sound of other people screaming in the distance. The couple near him were quickly backing away, holding each other's hands. "Bandits! Bandits!" The man shouted before he began sprinting away with the woman, leaving Brakas standing there by himself.

Brakas frowned as some began heading his way, several of which were large men wielding pretty big axes as well. Accompanying them was one man dressed in long robes, a book resting in the crook of his left arm. Brakas figured it must be some kind of magic user, though he was use to most wizards keeping their spellbooks somewhere safe. They could be really finicky about letting anybody see them.

One of the men pointing at him broke Brakas from his thoughts, two of them quickly making their ways towards him. "Make this easy buddy! Get hurt lot less if ya do!" a man with a sword called as they came towards him.

Brakas lifted a hand up, about to say something before taking a page from the villagers book, and quickly turning to sprint away from them. "Hard it is then!" one of the bandits laughed as they gave chase.

_Well this is just great! New land, same old shit!_ Brakas quickly turned into an alleyway, breaking sight with the men before quickly looking up towards the roofs of the buildings. One story only, definitely within range. In an instant, he was suddenly falling, though he quickly caught himself on the edge of the roof as he teleported to it. "Thank you small town construction plans." He pulled himself up over the edge, placing a hand on his head to keep his hat in place as he rolled himself onto his back and out of view of the alley.

Extending his hearing, he heard the two bandits move into the alley. "The fuck'd he go?!" One shouted, their footsteps sounding like they were right next to him as they moved further in. "Damn dead end, so he's gotta be here!"

"That or you lost track of him you moron." The other bandit said. "Good one."

"I saw him turn in here! He coulda scaled that wall!" the other responded.

"Climb it that fast? Yeah, totally. Used the smooth stone for handholds, eh?" The other responded with sarcasm. "Or maybe he just popped himself up and over it!" The man was now chuckling, Brakas nodding his head.

_Not too far off their buddy._

"Could've been a mage!" The other continued to try and defend himself, both of them starting to make their way back out of the alley. The other just hummed in response, ignoring the man's attempts to defend himself as they moved away.

Brakas sighed in relief, finally turning over onto his stomach to look back out over the town. _Ok, so they do have magic users here. Was right on that one._ Brakas figured that meant he was correct about the robed fella he had seen earlier.

He could hear other people shouting, Brakas wincing as some were clearly of people in pain. Looking down the street from his vantage point, he watched a townsman trying to run, only for a bandit to catch up to him and slam their axe into his back. The man screamed in agony as he fell forwards, desperately trying to crawl away, even when the axe was ripped out of his back. Brakas looked away before he saw the final blow, but he still got to hear the squelch of flesh being pulverized by a second swing.

In the distance, he didn't need heightened sight to see plumes of smoke rising into the sky as the bandits begin setting fire to the town. The strong stench of burning wood accompanied it, and Brakas grimaced as he could hear cries of help in said direction.

Honestly, he wanted to help these people. However, he knew that right now it would only be a lost cause. He'd just come back from the dead already, he really wasn't looking to do it all over again, especially when he wouldn't accomplish anything. His psionics were still too weak for him to do anything particularly effective, and Brakas knew damn well that he was not the most talented fighter.

_First thing I need to do is get a hold on a crossbow. Then maybe I can do something next time._

But he didn't have one, let alone any kind of weapon. He could potentially ambush a stray bandit, steal his weapon. That could work, and then he could try to single out the other bandits. They seemed hell bent on just looting at the moment, and probably were not expecting resistance of any kind.

Looking out though, his confidence in the plan quickly wavered, as he could see that these bandits, while not organized, most likely were decent when it came to combat. Again, something Brakas was not confident in. Any hit-and-run style fighting would do little to actually stop the majority of the bandits from continuing their pillaging and looting.

Maybe he kills a couple bandits, but that was a an iffy proposition to begin with. To him, it just felt like it would achieve nothing, even if he could manage it. So instead of hopping down and finding the nearest man to kill, he let out a defeated sigh, resting his head down as he looked out over the town.

"Great start to a new world, Brakas." he muttered. "Doing yourself proud here." he said, closing his eyes. He let his senses weaken again, if only to make it possible to tune out the cries of the people.

* * *

The white haired woman kept her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at the backs of the heads of the two in front of her. Occasionally she'd give a quick glance back at the currently dismounted, armored knight right behind her, frowning back at him in response to his own looks of suspicion.

Turning forwards again, her eyes settled on the road in front of her, brow furrowed in irritation as she desperately tried to recall any kind of memories or details of herself. Every time she tried though, it'd only give her a headache. She looked at the back of the blue-haired man's head.

How could she remember Chrom's name, but have no idea of her own? No idea how she ended up in the field, no idea where she was from, literally nothing but his name and how to speak. Guess she could be a bit thankful she hadn't forgotten how to do that.

She glanced over at blonde for a moment before behind her once again at the knight, who was still watching her like a hawk. Finally the silence got to her, not to mention having no idea what was going to happen. "So," she began, Chrom and the other woman both turning to look at her, "Am I your prisoner now?"

Chrom shook his head "No, and as soon as we determine you are not a threat to Ylisse, we will let you go." The white haired woman nodded her head, though still held her frown.

Still, at least she had some information now. "So, Ylisse is where we are?"

The knight scoffed at the comment, shaking his head. "You don't know of the Halidom? Someone pay this actor for playing the fool. The furrowed brow is very convincing."

"Frederick, keep being distrustful like that and you'll only be talking to the other Shepherds." Chrom said before looking back to the woman, "Yes, we are in the Halidom of Ylisse, ruled by the Exalt Emmeryn." He smiled at her, "As for introductions, I'm Chrom, though you know that already." He then gestured over to the blonde girl next to him, "And this delicate one is my sister, Lissa."

"I am not delicate!" Lissa replied, stomping her foot in irritation. Chrom only laughed, prompting Lissa to stick her tongue out at him. She then looked back to the white haired woman, donning a smile once more. "But I am his sister, and you should be glad it was us Shepherds that found you." She moved her hands behind her back, staff in her hand. "Bandits would make for a much ruder awakening."

The white haired woman narrowed her eyes at the two of them, head tilting to the side in slight confusion. "So, you are Shepherds?"

Chrom nodded his head, "Yeah."

"You tend to sheep?"

Lissa shrugged, "That's one way to put it."

"In full armor?" the woman then gestured behind her to Frederick.

Chrom chuckled, "Well, it can be dangerous work. Just ask Frederick, are permanent watchmen."

Frederick shrugged, "Someone has to be cautious here."

The woman nodded apprehensively, "Well, it's nice to meet you, my name is Robin." She paused, "Wait." She looked at the two siblings giving her an odd look. Shrugging, she gave a sheepish smile. "Guess it finally came to me!"

Frederick rolled his eyes, "I'm sure it did." he said, causing Robin to frown as she crossed her arms again.

_As cuddly as a thorn bush, that one is._ Robin watched ahead in silence, Chrom and Lissa having turned to look ahead again. _Well, at least I got my name. That's a step in the right direction at least. Hoping more comes to me soon._

The four of them continued in silence, though as they crested the hill, Chrom froze in his spot as Lissa cried out in shock. "Chrom, the town!" Robin and Frederick came up next to the siblings, Robin's eyes widening at the sight of smoke billowing out of the town ahead of them.

Chrom was scowling now, "Dammit! Those must be the bandits we were tracking! Lissa, Frederick, let's go!"

"But Milord, what about her?" Frederick asked, gesturing to Robin.

"Is she on fire?"

"Well, no-"

"Then she can wait. Let's go!"

Frederick nodded to him. "Right away, Milord." Frederick quickly mounted his horse and surged forwards after Chrom and Lissa, Robin remaining still for a moment before sighing and following after them.

She could see that the bandits were having their way with the place, many brandishing axes and some with swords. Nobody seemed to be stopping them from their looting and burning at the moment. As the four of them made their way towards the town center, Robin could see one of the bandits was emerging from the temple, dragging a screaming woman behind him. A hostage to complicate the situation.

As she followed behind, Robin felt something heavy bumping into her leg from within her coat, the woman's hand drifting down to feel what it was. She gasped slightly, feeling a large tome resting there. _I can use magic? When did I learn that?_ She rolled her eyes at her own question, _Yeah, gonna figure that one out real soon._

Some bandits turned to face the four newcomers, though one was not fast enough to defend himself. Frederick ended him quickly, driving a lance straight through his chest and dragging his body for a few moments before he let it slip off the weapon, continuing his charge towards the next one. Chrom was right behind him, moving in to intercept an axe-wielder.

The man quickly shifted to the side, avoiding a downward swing of the axe before slashing the bandit across the neck. Chrom didn't break stride as he moved towards the next bandit, leaving the man to fall over, his severed head rolling away.

Robin swallowed hard, stopping in her tracks next to Lissa as she took in what was going on. Axe wielders, swords, and she could see at least one archer. Near the bandit with the hostage, Robin could also see a robed individual pulling out a book of their own as the Shepherds came towards them.

"Chrom! Watch out for the mage!" Robin shouted, moving forwards and pulling free her own spellbook. Chrom looked up in time to avoid a bolt of lightning that shot from the hand of the mage, where he then had to quickly parry a strike from a swordsman. The mage attempted to launch another spell at Chrom, but had to avoid a return bolt of lightning from Robin as she came up near Chrom.

Another parry, followed by a slash across the stomach had Chrom dropping the sword wielding bandit, where he then looked to Robin. "You're a mage?!" he asked her.

Robin looked to him, then shrugged, "News to me also!" She said, looking towards the bandit mage as they prepped another bolt of lightning, Robin doing the same. "You and Frederick handle the closer ones, I'll take the mage!" The two of them began hurling bolts at one another, Robin ducking behind a wooden cart for cover as one bolt flashed by her.

* * *

Brakas jerked his head up at the sudden sound of thunder, blinking in confusion as he glanced to the sky. It was still bright and sunny, with not a rain cloud in sight. _The hell was that?_

Another crack of thunder drew his attention towards the center of town, which form his vantage point he could barely see. Moving so that he could see over the buildings better, he once again enhanced his senses to try and make out just what was happening.

He was surprised to see the bandits currently fighting with three others, another woman standing towards the back with a staff in her hands. A heavily armored knight was easily fending off some of the bandits from atop his horse, while a blue-haired man was weaving between the attacks of two bandits as he engaged them.

Lighting shot into the market they were fighting in, aimed towards a white haired woman who dived to the ground to avoid the deadly arc. That explained the random thunder then.

Brakas could also see that one of the bandits near the temple had a large arm wrapped around a woman, axe ready for use in the other as an archer began taking shots at the knight. Near them also was the mage he'd seen before, book open as they threw bolts of lighting at the black coated lady.

"Holy hell." Brakas muttered, still kneeling as he watched the fighting unfold. Blinking, he then quickly shook his head to shake himself from his stupor. "Well, you wanted to help, now's the time Brakas!" He said to himself, getting up to his feet as he then quickly looked around at the various buildings. He smiled, making out a path he could take to get closer while remaining on the rooftops.

He began moving, teleporting from one rooftop to the next as he made his way towards the archer's position. He would be the easiest for him to deal with, especially if he wasn't prepared for a surprise attack. He made it to the roof just above the man's position, waiting for another crack of thunder to sound before making his teleport to the alley below, using the boom of the magic to hide the pop of his teleport.

Once there, he carefully made his way towards the exit of the alley, reaching down to grab a decent sized rock as he did so. He craned his head as he reached the mouth of the alley, where he could hear the woman crying and pleading for mercy, the man holding her just ignoring the cries as he watched the fight before him.

Brakas made his move, sprinting out from the alley and towards the archer as they began to nock another arrow. The bandit turned his head to the sound of Brakas's footsteps, but he didn't get a chance to react as the Traveller smashed the rock across his face. The archer cried out in pain, drawing the attention of the bandit leader, who then watched Brakas descend on the archer with another brutal strike to the man's head. One more swing had Brakas cracking open the archers head, blood spraying out from the dead man as his skull finally caved in from the strike.

"More assholes for the fun then?!" The bandit leader yelled, yanking the woman so that she was now between him and Brakas, who had grabbed the archer's shortsword and was now getting up to his feet.

"I'm always one for a party." Brakas said with a false sense of bravado, trying to keep the bandit's attention on him. "Gotta say your shit at throwing them, though." He cracked a smile, the bandit chief chuckling.

"Ain't you a funny guy!" He said, dragging the woman closer to him, who had now just resorted to silent cries. Her eyes were shut tightly as she held onto the man's arm around her neck.

To his side, Brakas could hear the sounds of the fighting starting to die down, and the hoofs of the horse hitting the road gave him an idea of who was winning. Still though, he could see past the chief the thunder mage, who was still busy keeping the others held back with blasts of lightning. Brakas risked a quick glance over, seeing that Blue and White hair were both behind cover now, the knight trying to make moves but stopping himself when lightning would hit near him.

The white haired woman stood up, another spell prepped. The bandit mage had been ready though, turning his hand to unleash a spell once more. Brakas quickly reached out with his powers, forcing them to stretch further as he quickly snagged hold of the mage's casting hand. With just a small, sharp tug, he forced the mages hand to point downwards, directing his spell into the ground in front of him and sending stone flying into the air as the magic exploded in front of him.

He recoiled, trying to shield his face, only to then be struck in the chest by White's own spell. He was knocked off his feet, slamming back against the wall hard before slumping to the ground, his chest caved in slightly and smoldering from the immense heat.

The bandit leader now turned his attention towards the dead mage before looking to the approaching swordsman and knight. He brought his axe up to the woman's neck, who only whimpered as it pressed against her. "Back up, or I drain her dry!"

The threat had Frederick and Chrom stopping in their tracks, Robin coming up behind them alongside Lissa. All of them held their ground, watching as the bandit began to move away from Brakas and them. "Now I'm leaving, and she gets to tag along! Keep you Ylissian asses off my back, got it!?" He shouted at them.

"Chrom, we can't just let him go!" Lissa said, Chrom's hand tightening around the grip of Falchion.

"I know, Lissa." he said, inching forwards some as the bandit continued to move away, Frederick following behind Chrom. "But we can't just let him kill that woman."

The bandit smirked as he kept backing up, "That's right, behave yourselves alright?!" His smug look vanished when the axe he was holding onto was suddenly ripped out of his hand, causing him to stumble forwards as he tried to keep a hold on it. "The fuck?!" He shouted, falling over with the woman who screamed again as they both went down. Chrom and Frederick moved forwards quickly, Frederick getting there first and driving his lance right into the Bandit's exposed chest.

While he did so, Chrom quickly grabbed and pulled the woman away, the bandit leader crying out in pain before a second thrust from Frederick had him gurgling on blood that began to seep from his mouth before going limp a moment later.

Robin had remained back some, watching them, though she followed the path of the axe is flew rapidly through the air and straight towards the Brakas. Brakas reached out to try and snag hold of the axe, his hand wrapping around the handle of the large weapon. His own cheer from disarming the man was snuffed out as the weapon continued along it's path, the heavy axe head causing Brakas to violently spin with it and fall to the ground.

"Fuck!" Brakas cried out as he fell to the ground, hand still on the weapon, chin smacking against the cobblestone. The short-sword he had earlier clanging across the ground as he lost his hold on it. He had sorely underestimated how heavy the axe was, and now he was flat on his stomach because of it. "That could have gone better…" he grumbled

"Look out!" Robin suddenly yelled, watching as one last bandit emerge from hiding to then rush at Brakas while he was on the ground, the man's axe raised to plunge into the fallen man. She tried to conjure up a spell to stop the bandit, even though she knew she wouldn't be fast enough.

Brakas looked back, and to Robin's surprise, suddenly vanished, only to appear to the running man's side. He swung the heavy axe right into his gut, stopping the bandit's charge. He stared forwards in shock, the bandit's own weapon falling to the ground as he then looked to the weapon in his torso. Brakas ripped the axe in his hands free, struggling to bring it up and around to then slam into the stunned bandit's back, driving him to the ground and ending him.

Brakas let out a large sigh of relief, letting the large axe go. "Heavy fucking thing." he grumbled, reaching up to his chin and wincing when his hand brushed against the bleeding cut there. Hissing in pain, he brought his hand back to see the blood on his glove. At that point, he began to feel the effects of driving his powers to extent that he had. The axe had been a tough object to pull on, and was made only harder because he had to rip it free from the bandit's grip. He bent forwards, hands resting on his knees as he took a few deep breaths.

He finally looked over towards the Shepherds, watching Lissa tend to the shocked woman as Chrom and Frederick made sure there were no more bandits left. His attention then turned to Robin, who was still staring at him. He blinked, looking around himself to see if there was something he failed to notice before back to her. He brought up a hand again to wipe away some of the dripping blood from his chin.

"Never thought my looks would stun a woman to silence." he said, Robin blinking, her cheeks turning slightly red as she realized what she'd been doing.

"Wha- No!" She stammered out, "Just, what did you do just then?"

Brakas raised an eyebrow before mentally slapping himself (not literally in his case). He generally preferred to keep his powers a secret, if only because it gave him an edge against any potential opposition. It also made him much less conspicuous, which again, was only a good thing in his eyes.

So, he decided to potentially play ignorant. Could work, for all he knew. "What? You mean cleave the guts from that guy? Well you see, involved rolling out of the way-"

"You didn't roll!" Robin said, scowling now as she walked towards him, making Brakas take a step back. "I saw you…" she flailed her hands about for a moment as she thought of what to say, "Just disappear then show up behind him. How did you do that?"

"Well, firstly it was to his side, not behind him." Brakas started, Robin putting her hands on her hips, not amused by the smart remark, "And as I was saying before you interrupted, just some quick movement and I was out of the way!" He said, throwing in a friendly smile her way. Judging from her irritated expression, she was not very convinced.

"If that was rolling, then you can roll really quick." Lissa chimed in, walking towards the two of them who looked to her. Brakas again backed up a bit as she came towards him, making the blonde pout. "Let me fix up your chin, ok?"

Brakas raised an eyebrow before hesitantly nodding, though he was ready to teleport at a moments notice. He'd seen staffs at work before, and most did not fix chins. She stopped near him and brought her staff up, the gem atop it beginning to glow. The pain in his chin quickly faded away, Brakas bringing a hand up to touch it, only to feel that the wound was now gone. Still bloody, but better than bleeding.

She stepped back smiling at him as she brought her hands behind her. "See? All better!"

Brakas smiled back, though still a little on edge, "Well, uh, thank you then miss."

"Name's Lissa! And you are welcome." She looked over to Chrom and Frederick who were coming towards them now.

"Thanks for the help there." Chrom said, stopping near them and extending a hand out to Brakas. "My name is Chrom." Brakas looked to his hand before back at him, shaking the man's hand in return.

"Brakas the Traveller." Brakas said, tipping his head to him before looking at the wary Frederick. His eyes moved back to Robin, who now had her arms crossed and still had her scowl. "And hey, when I saw you folks going at it, couldn't just sit back."

"The Traveller?" Frederick asked, eyebrow raised as he looked over the man. "And where are you travelling from?"

Brakas blinked, staring at the knight. He hadn't thought about the answer to that, and considering he had no idea where he was, it was even harder to think of an answer.

Chrom looked back at Frederick, "Does it matter? He clearly wasn't with the bandits, so I see no reason to pry into it." Brakas silently cheered at the save. Why make a lie when someone else can do it for you?

"He could just as likely be in league with other Plegians. Who knows, these two could be co-conspirators." he said, gesturing between Brakas and Robin. Brakas stared at the knight, a bit dumbfounded. This knight was definitely a paranoid fella. Robin just rolled her eyes, looking away from them.

Chrom's cheery demeanor faded away as he eyed the knight, "I watched both of them risk their lives to help this town and stop those bandits. Too me, that's enough to earn my trust."

"Besides, they don't look that mean anyways." Lissa said with a grin, glancing at Brakas. "Well, excluding all the leather."

Brakas looked at her, "Hey! Leather happens to be a dependable material when it comes to frequent travelling. Besides," He tugged on the collar of his jacket to smooth it out, "I think it gives me a nice, rugged charm."

Lissa snorted, covering her mouth with one hand as she chuckled, "Alright, if you say so mister rugged." Brakas narrowed his eyes at her, prompting more giggling from the girl.

Chrom looked to them for a moment before back to Frederick. "I say they are good." He then looked to Brakas, "Well, as I said, thank you for the help. I hope the rest of your journey goes well." he said with a smile.

Brakas looked to him, tilting his head to the side. Where the hell was he going to travel to anyways? Not like he had a goal in mind, and maybe he could get some kind of help on either figuring out a path, or just finding some fun with these people. Or at least with Blondie and Blueie.

"Well," Brakas started, "Honestly, I'm kinda lost right now. No idea where I am really going, but then again I never really have much of a goal in mind when it comes to destinations. If it's not too much, can I join you to wherever you are going? A lot safer for me also if I stick to a group I know won't stab me in the back. "He then looked at Robin and Frederick before back to Chrom, "Well, maybe won't."

Frederick sighed, shaking his head. "Let me guess, can't remember anything either? Must be a plague of amnesia going around."

Chrom looked at the knight again, about to speak before Brakas beat him to it. "Only thing I don't know of is where the hell I am. So no, not amnesia, just pure ignorance." he crossed his arms. He wasn't entirely lying, as he really was just ignorant to this place. They didn't need to know about the memory loss/dying part.

Chrom looked back to Brakas, "If you want to, you can join us to Ylisstol. From there, you can either continue your travels, or whatever it is you fancy." Frederick just ran a hand over his face before turning to head over to his horse.

Brakas smiled, "Now that sounds like a lovely idea."

Robin decided to chime in again, "How about you explain your disappearing trick first?" Granted, she had no real right to ask, as she had no authority here. However, she did know Lissa had noticed it, and most likely she'd pressure the traveller as well. If she asked, Brakas would have a harder time dodging the question, as Lissa's interest would hold more weight with Chrom and Frederick.

Brakas looked at her, scowling at her, though Robin just gave a smug smirk in return. Lissa blinked before nodding her head, "Yeah! There was no way you just 'rolled', especially if you were trying to swing an axe that dragged you to the ground in the first place." she said with a slight giggle at the memory.

Chrom looked between the two woman, eyebrow raised. "What now?"

Lissa looked to Chrom, "Yeah, he did some weird teleporting thing when a guy tried to cut him up on the ground." She the brought a finger to her lips as she pondered, "Not to mention, there was the whole bringing the axe to him thing."

Chrom looked at Lissa, then to Robin before back to Brakas. Now that Lissa mentioned it, he too was remembering watching the axe suddenly go flying towards the leather-clad stranger. Chrom was no mage, so he didn't know if it was some kind of magic. "Yeah, how did you do that?"

_Son of a bitch! _Brakas was internally fuming, knowing he'd let his tricks be seen. Dodging the question now was something he couldn't really afford to do, not if he wanted to travel with these people. _Just had to show it off, didn't ya Brakas? Fuck! _He eyed Robin again, who was still smiling. _Cheeky cunt._

He looked back to Chrom and Lissa, noticing Frederick walking up to them, horse being pulled behind him by it's reigns. Might as well just come out with it, hell they might not even believe him anyways. "Well, at the risk of sounding like a nut-job, did it with my mind." He said, pointing to his head. All of them gave him weird looks, as he figured they would. He just shrugged, "Psychic kinda thing. Don't know how of it all works, but grabbing stuff or teleporting are things I can do with my mind."

"Psychic? You mean like fortune telling stuff?" Lissa asked before gasping, "Can you tell me my future?!" she stepped up closer to Brakas, a big grin on her face.

Brakas once more recoiled away, "Um, no. Not that kind of psychic."

"Ah man…" Lissa said with a frown.

Chrom found his voice next, "Well, I'm glad you decided to use it on those bandits rather than us." he chuckled softly. Brakas just blinked in surprise.

_One is super paranoid, the other super trusting. I always find weird groups to be a part of._ He then looked over to Robin, whose smile had vanished and been replaced with a scowl once more. Brakas shrugged at her, "Told you it'd make me sound like a nut-job."

"One way to put it." Frederick muttered before looking off down the road. "Well, I suggest we get going then. Still have some daylight to travel with."

Lissa's mouth hung open in shock, "Wha?! We can't just stay here and rest?"

Chrom chuckled, patting her shoulder as he began walking, "You wanted to experience what travelling was like, sis. That includes getting comfortable with camping."

"That's not fair!" Lissa stamped her foot before grumbling, following after the other two. Robin and Brakas watched them go before they both looked at one another.

After another few moments of staring, Brakas raised an eyebrow, "Sure your not stunned by my rugged charm?"

Robin's left eye twitched in irritation, teeth clenched before she huffed and stomped after the others, Brakas snickering at her before extending his hands out. The handle of the short sword came to his right hand, while the sheath for it came to his other hand. Brakas took a moment to wipe the blood off the blade with a clean part of one bandit's clothing before sheathing the blade and following after the Shepherds.

**And here we go! I'm looking forward to writing this story, if only because of the things I have planned ahead. Brakas is just a starter, afterall. So, please feel free to let me know what you think, as I am always looking to improve on my own writing. I hope you enjoyed!**

**Also want to give a shout-out to the Fanfiction Treehouse on Discord! Come and Join! Discord is: 9XG3U7a**


End file.
